SAN DIEGO—Company culture is the most important element inrecruiting, developing and retaining talent that will movebrokerages forward, said speakers at MBA'sIndependent Mortgage Brokers Conference herethis week. A firm's culture can mean the difference between successand failure and can be used as a selling point for recruiting andretaining strong employees.

During the session “Recruiting, Developing and Retaining Talentto Move Your Company Forward,” moderator BillEmerson, 2015 MBA chairman-elect and CEO ofQuicken Loans Inc., pointed out the difficulty offinding young talent interested in the independent mortgagebrokerage business, since the average age of a mortgage broker is54. “Where will this new group of brokers come from?” He askedpanelists how they get started in the mortgage industry, and allthree said the industry really found them instead of vice-versa.Most, in fact, said they had stumbled into it.

Hiring loan originators has changed over the past decade, thepanelists also said. Tony Thompson, regionalmanager for Guaranteed Rate Inc., said that 10years ago, “you were great because of who you knew and what youcould deliver. You were comfortable with the platform, and that wasenough. Now, a guy or girl 10 years into the industry is wonderingif they can still be a top originator.” He pointed out that softskills such as critical thinking are important for today's crop oforiginators.